FROM THE DAILY ASTRONOMER

VERNAL EQUINOX
5:24 p.m. EDT
March 20, 2023

No, we certainly didn't forget to post today's meticulously crafted and
soul-inspiring DA.  Instead, it was delayed because we always send seasonal
notifications at the precise moment that the season arrives. At this moment
the vernal equinox, known to our northern hemisphere denizens as the first
day of spring, has arrived.  In case you're reading this post well after
its arrival, that moment is/was 5:24 p.m.

[image: 10817098.jpg]
A spring postcard from us to you.  We would have posted a photo from Maine
if, well, there were any sections of the state that actually
appeared vernal.


The Sun has reached the origin point:
zero degrees declination
zero hours right ascension.
It is crossing the celestial equator along the ascending node and is moving
cheerfully and inexorably toward the June solstice point.
Autumn begins in the southern hemisphere.

More than any other season, spring's arrival seems to inspire all manner of
rhapsodies: concise and eloquent as well as tedious and interminable.
As we're more apt to pen the latter than the former we now merely wish you
every happiness in this season of rekindled warmth and rejuvenation.

Edward